Devouring This Year's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the season to slob out on the sofa and devour a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a crop of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

So, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I binged as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, hopefully, on a good foot. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt pick up on lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for fans and a positive start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. One can imagine their retort. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor pops up at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a guy in a literary haven who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The answer is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but sweet, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer begins by referencing holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher